The Kiss of the Sphinx
by donaMariposa
Summary: Circumstances force Ishizu to take a job as Kaiba's secretary. Their relationship soon takes a turn for the dramatic as she begins to uncover the truth of a 5,000 year-old illicit romance between a priest and priestess...IsisSeto
1. The Dragon in his Den

(This fic takes place about six or seven years after Battle City. Battle City is actually Kaiba's last season on the show, and he goes to America with Mokuba to open more Kaiba Lands or something like that, but I set it in Domino anyway for no particular reason. I refer to Ishizu by her American name, since using the name Isis will get kind of confusing later on. I also refer to Odion by his Japanese name, Rishid, since I really don't like the name Odion. I don't know why, I just don't. Also, the formatting probably got all screwed up when I uploaded this chapter, so I apologize if you have trouble reading it. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough..)  
  
~  
  
"So, Miss..uh, Ishtar, is it? Well, Miss Ishtar, you do seem to be our most qualified candidate for the job so far." The man sitting across from her rifled through her résumé briefly. "So it says here that you spent two years serving as the head of the Egyptian Department of Archaelogy. Is that correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you are bilingual."  
  
"Yes. That is correct. I speak both English and Arabic fluently."  
  
"Hmm." The man (Mr. Gotaru, is it?) rubbed his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Ishizu wondered idly what he must have looked like as a child.  
  
"Well...once again, I must say you do seem very qualified for the job. Congratulations Miss Ishtar; you start on Monday."  
  
"Monday."  
  
"Yes. The post of Mr. Kaiba's personal secretary pays very well. Though I must warn you that Mr. Kaiba may be..very, er, temperamental." There was an uncomfortable silence as Mr. Gotaru toyed with his pen. "Well, anyway, I'm very proud to welcome you to the staff of Kaiba corporation." He stood up and offered his hand to Ishizu. On an impulse, she asked a question. "What happened to the last secretary?"  
  
Mr. Gotaru gave her a brittle smile. "Maternity leave."  
  
~  
  
Ishizu jabbed moodily at the elevator button. She supposed she was should be happy about this job (after all, it paid well compared to the numerous other jobs she'd applied for, and Kaiba Corporation was only a short distance from her apartment), but to tell the truth, she absolutely hated the idea of being Kaiba's secretary. Ishizu felt that there was something incurably crude about the idea of being at Seto Kaiba's beck and call. Not to mention the fact that she, an educated woman, was now reduced to making coffee and answering the phone for Kaiba. Then again, she didn't really even want the job anyway. She was only taking it to be near her brother. Marik insisted on living in Domino instead of moving back to Egypt as Ishizu had tried vainly to persuade him to do. He was currently sharing an apartment with Bakura, and Ishizu didn't know whether they were just friends or it was something more than that, but the fact of the matter was she'd really rather not know. Things were much easier to manage when left unsaid. But she had no other choice but to resign her position as head of the department of Archaeology. It was out of the question for her to retain her post once she left Egypt. No, she corrected herself, she wasn't forced. She did it for Marik. It was as simple as that. Hadn't her mother taught her constantly that nothing was stronger than the ties of family? But what it all came down to was that Ishizu had to find a job here if she wanted to stay near her brother.  
  
The elevator dinged as it reached the ground floor and Ishizu stepped off. Various businessmen hurried past her. There was a sterility about Kaiba Corporation, like the feeling Ishizu gets when she walks past an abandoned house. The various businessmen seem to be nothing more than mirages, mirages reflected by the polished marble floor. Ishizu suddenly understood how a caged animal feels. For who knows but she may end up like one?  
  
~  
  
Ishizu reached Kaiba Corporation the next morning at about seven- thirty. She had an office adjacent to Kaiba's, something she doesn't find particularly comforting. Oh well, with some skill and maneuvering she wouldn't have to speak more than she needed to him. She remembered her first impression of him several years ago at the Domino Museum. Cold, haughty and imperious, he had been anything but endearing. She doubted he'd changed much. Her chair squeaked slightly as she sank into it and studied her new office. It was tiny, not much bigger than a cubicle, actually. (Ishizu felt thankful she was not claustrophobic.) Her office was painted with spotless white walls, and smelled faintly of paint thinner and pencils.  
  
At quarter to eight, Ishizu heard voices from Kaiba's office.  
  
"Where is she? I hope you told her I don't tolerate late secretaries. If she's not here by eight, she's fired." There was that all too familiar voice.  
  
A second voice chimed in. "I'm sure she's in her office, Mr. Kaiba."  
  
Ishizu debated inside her head whether or not she really wanted to see Kaiba. Her morning had gone on relatively fine without him, but if she didn't get up there was no doubt Kaiba would fire her on the spot. She sighed and forced herself to get up and walk out the door. Seto Kaiba turned and looked at her from behind his desk. She'd been right; he hadn't changed much at all. There were the same well-cut features and dark blue eyes she remembered so well. He studied her briefly. She, on the other hand, must have been very hard to recognize. She had disposed of her gold braids and loose linen dress, and was dressed instead in a conventional skirt and heels, and wore her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't Ishtar..I'm glad to see you've given up your fortune-telling frippery and decided to come back to reality. Though I warn you: I didn't hire you to hear you croak about the future. I hired you as a secretary and if you insist on burdening me with your prophetic babble, you can walk out the door and find another job."  
  
Ishizu looked him squarely in the eye. She repressed an insane desire to slap Kaiba and stand him in the corner, like the spoiled child he was at heart. She frowned, wondering yet again why she had taken this job. If she had wanted to hear someone mock her like this, she could have moved in with her brother.  
  
~  
  
Ishizu detested her new job much more than she could ever have imagined. The hopelessly prosaic world of business, she felt, was one that didn't ever allow for the magical side of things. And Kaiba wasn't helping either. He was so constantly provoking, constantly taunting, constantly mocking her. Some days it took every ounce of strength Ishizu possessed to refrain from throwing her papers into his smug, condescending face.  
  
But, as she reminded herself constantly, it was her duty to bear it, even if she couldn't stand it. After all, Ishizu had always particularly prided herself on her high sense of duty and her ability to bear just about anything. But within a few weeks or so, she had more or less gotten used to her new routine. She woke at six, and stood in the kitchen and ate a light breakfast of some kibbeh or tabbouleh and an English muffin. She then showered and dressed, and was on the subway by six-fifty. Once at Kaiba Corporation, she usually spent the whole day on the computer, doing paperwork, or finishing one of the numerous petty tasks Kaiba felt was below him.  
  
One Tuesday afternoon Ishizu arrived home tired and threw herself down on the sofa. She loosened her collar and kicked off her shoes as someone knocked on the door. She was tired; she didn't even want to bother to answer it. She figured if she stayed still, whoever was at the door would decide she wasn't home. She had had a particularly bad day. Kaiba had been in one of his moods and had spent the better part of the morning raging at her, and then the afternoon sulking behind his desk. Well, he hadn't sulked exactly. But Ishizu interpreted that stony silence he maintained for several hours as nothing more than childish defiance. She had left Kaiba Corporation that afternoon with a mixed feeling of relief and anger. On her way home on the subway she thought she that she felt someone try to feel her up, and had promptly smacked the offender on the face with her purse, only to turn around and face a surprised elderly gentleman whose hand had inadvertently grazed her thigh while he was trying to get off. And whoever was at the door was still knocking. Ishizu repressed a growl and got up and wrenched open the door.  
  
Her brother Marik was standing in the hallway.  
  
And behind him, she noticed with a slight frown, was Bakura.  
  
Ishizu bit her tongue and let them in, wishing that she had not answered the door. Marik stared at her for a few minutes with a slightly confused expression. What had happened to his sister, the calm, serene, perfectly groomed Ishizu? It seemed she had been replaced with this loose- collared woman with windswept hair, a tired look in her eyes and a pencil smudge on her left cheek. Bakura walked in with his usual infuriatingly tranquil expression, barely noticing Ishizu at all.  
  
Her brother's purpose in life, Ishizu thought scathingly, seemed to be to make as much possible trouble as he could for her.  
  
Marik and Bakura sat down on her sofa. Ishizu felt with a sense of foreboding that this would turn out to be a very messy confrontation. One that they had put off for too long. Even as she studied her brother, Ishizu felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Face it Ishizu, she told herself, you may not exactly condone some of Marik's choices, but he's undeniably happy, something you wish you could have. It was true, she thought rather bitterly, that she had long since gotten used to dead-end relationships. She remembered Rishid with a slight pang. They had been together for a while, but it didn't work out. True, he was about ten years older than she was, but she still blamed herself. It certainly wasn't Rishid's fault. After all, he was loyal, serious, and undeniably devoted to her and her family- as he'd proved again and again. Then what exactly went wrong?  
  
"Ishizu?"  
  
She blinked. Marik was staring at her with a slightly worried look. All her anger evaporated abruptly at the sight of her brother. Something about his expression recalled the Marik of earlier years, her sweet adoring little brother Marik, untainted and innocent.  
  
She shook her head slightly and sat down next to them.  
  
"Ishizu...we came here tonight because we have something important to tell you..." Marik paused, then continued, "Bakura is planning on moving back to England sometime soon. And I'm... I'm going with him."  
  
Ishizu suddenly felt a surge of vicious anger.  
  
How could he?  
  
She had left everything she knew in Egypt to accompany him here in America.  
  
And now he wants to traipse back to England.  
  
How could he?  
  
Didn't he think about her feelings?  
  
Her circumstances?  
  
The numerous sacrifices she'd made for his sake at one point or another?  
  
But when she spoke, her voice was slow and even.  
  
"Marik...I hope you don't expect me to go with you."  
  
Marik looked at her in surprise. "Ishizu, but you're my sister."  
  
"No, Marik. Perhaps you don't understand me. I as good as gave up my life in Egypt for you. Maybe you can't comprehend how hard I worked to get where I was. I never had an education like yours, Marik. I wasn't the long- hoped for first son. But I came a long way. I spent years studying Archaelogy. I spent years climbing to the top to get to where I was. But I gave that up. So I could stay next to you. And now you want me to do that again." Her voice was still calm, but her expression was fierce.  
  
Marik was silent, but Bakura spoke up for the first time.  
  
"Well, we aren't in any hurry. We won't move for the next ten months, at least. If you change your mind, you're more than welcome to join us."  
  
Ishizu wanted to shake the man violently. Hadn't he heard a word of what she had just said? She glared at him.  
  
"This is ridiculous. I don't have the time for this. If you would be so kind as to leave me alone for now, we can continue this discussion tomorrow." She looked pointedly at the door.  
  
Mokuba Kaiba tapped his fingers impatiently. He loved his big brother, but he had to admit that one of Seto's most annoying little quirks was the fact that it always took him forever to decide what to order off a menu. I swear, he thought, for someone who barely eats, Ani-chan's pretty picky.  
  
Trying to pass the time, Mokuba stared at the other restaurant patrons. A fat man in a suit was speaking vehemently to his dinner companion, a bored-looking woman who jabbed at her shrimp with a glazed expression. To the table next to them sat a woman in her thirties with thick eyebrows and a frilly white shirt and her twin daughters. One was picking her nose, and the other was chewing ice. On the table across from theirs, a solitary woman wearing a white off-the-shoulder dress sat. He craned his neck to get a better look. Hmm...black hair, a not too bad figure...funny, she almost reminded him of someone. The woman suddenly turned around and looked straight at him.  
  
"Seto, isn't that your secretary?"  
  
His brother glanced up. "Where?"  
  
"There. The table in the corner."  
  
"Yes. So?"  
  
Mokuba sprang up and waved eagerly at her. She smiled hesitantly, but came over to their table.  
  
"Mokuba, it is nice to see you." She looked down at him gravely. "And Mr. Kaiba."  
  
Seto gave her the briefest of nods.  
  
"Hey..why don't you join us?"  
  
Ishizu smiled imperceptibly. She'd always preferred Mokuba to his taciturn brother. She remembered him from years ago, at the Battle City Tournament. She was secretly quite fond of him. So devoted to his older brother, and he had that charming naïveté. He reminded her of how her brother used to be.  
  
"Of course. If your brother doesn't mind?"  
  
Seto nodded darkly. Of course, Ishtar shows up, he thought petulantly. He'd been tired from work, and there was the fact that he and Mokuba hadn't spent any quality time together for quite a while now. He offered to take Mokuba out to dinner, just the two of them, but his secretary shows up and worms her way into their meal. But he couldn't refuse. Well, not according to proper etiquette, at least.  
  
While waiting for their food to arrive, Ishizu and Mokuba talked for a while. Mokuba often spent afternoons at his brother's office, so he had met Ishizu again a few weeks ago. He also still remembered her somewhat from Battle City. They talked about Battle City for a few minutes, while Kaiba sat silently.  
  
Kaiba was still annoyed at the Ishizu's intrusion, but he couldn't help studying her. She was a handsome woman, he almost grudgingly admitted. Her profile was outlined by the candlelight, and he couldn't help admitting she had a certain languid grace, with her arching throat and those watery movements that reminded him so forcibly of some mermaid. She had changed a lot since Battle City. She'd lost that somewhat mystical tone and her voice was a little more prosaic, something he felt was an improvement. But she still had that serious demeanor and sphinx-like eyes. She was fascinating. But that didn't mean he was fascinated with her. He considered himself impervious to any woman's charms, no matter how strong. And there sure as hell was no way he was going to fall for his secretary, of all people.  
  
The food soon arrived, cutting short his reverie. Throughout the dinner, thought, he couldn't help noticing that Ishizu had looked tired and worn out. Funny, all his secretaries seemed to have that expression after a while. But then again, he thought scornfully, what heavy responsibilities could Ishtar possibly have to wear her out like that? He remained silent for the rest of the meal.  
  
At the end of the meal, Ishizu stood up and thanked both Kaibas. Mokuba responded effusively, but Kaiba simply said goodbye brusquely, and left.  
  
Ishizu sat on her balcony for a long time when she got home that night. She had felt Kaiba's eyes on her during dinner, and felt slightly uneasy. She always hated being studied. It's not even like he has feelings for me or anything, at least, she mused. But she still wished she'd never gone out for dinner. She had felt slightly restless after Marik and Bakura had left, so she'd driven around Domino for a while, before finally deciding to have some dinner. Who knew Seto Kaiba would be at the restaurant she picked, too? She was still confused about Marik. It was entirely inconsiderate of him to spring that on her like that. But she still yearned to go with him. He was still her little brother. She was attached to him. Like it or not, he was all she had left. Hadn't they been through worse than this before? She had rescued him from himself during Battle City. Mother was right, she thought as she leaned back and stared at the moon. He's my flesh and blood, the tie more sacred than any other. She became lost in a reverie before she was interrupted by the strident yowls of two stray cats fighting with each other on the street. She sighed heavily and went inside.  
  
(..Since I know there are a lot of you out there who can't stand yaoi, I kinda left the whole Marik/Bakura thing open to interpretation. Whether they're friends or lovers, I don't really know, just go ahead and imagine whatever you want. But either way, I don't really plan to go too deeply into Marik's life or anything, since this is a SetoxIshizu fic.  
  
Also, a little note on Ishizu's character. I know in my fic she may not seem exactly like she is on the show, but it's more of my interpretation of her character. Since the show never really went in depth on her personality, I've always kind of imagined her calmness as just covering up a lot of internal conflict and turmoil. I've always felt sort of aggravated at the fact that she just remains so calm about every single thing, so in this fic, I made her seem a little more human. (i.e. random spurts of insanity, reckless driving, and all those other common foibles of human nature...^_^)  
  
And the High priest Seto and Priestess Aishizu parts will be in the next chapter. Hopefully incentive enough for you to keep reading this fic. ^_^ And I just noticed that I seem to always end up writing excruciatingly long and rambling Author's notes for some reason..) 


	2. The Sands of Time

He says he'll be back tonight, she thinks. He'll be back. He'll wrap me in those arms of his, and it'll be like it always is. Priestess Aishizu looks at the sundial. The golden sundial was a family relic, a gift from an Assyrian trader to her great-grandmother. It's about noon. He'll be back by midnight. She recites it like a litany, over and over. It's strangely comforting. The torches in their sconces flicker in the dimly lighted temple walls.  
  
Aishizu is a priestess, the only female out of the six royal priests, a prestigious office, one that has been passed down from mother to daughter in her family for longer than she can remember. She grows weary of it sometimes, for it is a tedious job, a job that she feels stifles her very spirit, the post of High Priestess. She has a burial to preside at this afternoon, and then she will have the rest of the day off.  
  
For the rest of the day, she grows almost feverish with anticipation. No one seems to notice, though. The heat is soporific, and the three other priests have a glazed look in their eyes. There are only five of them this afternoon, since Priest Seth had to accompany the pharaoh to Helios to oversee the building of his pyramid. The burial is uneventful and passes quickly, and the sun is starting to go down when she finally returns to her chambers. She pulls off her headdress and gold jewelry, and slips out of her heavy ceremonial robes, and into a plain white dress. She takes off her shoes, and lets down her hair, and examines her reflection in a plate of shined metal. The events of the day have given a luminous quality to her lapiz-lazuli eyes, and her mane of thick inky blue hair hangs down like a curtain. The other priests are taking their evening meal, and Aishizu slips silently out of the temple and steals toward the riverbank. The other priests are taking their evening meal, and Aishizu slips toward the riverbank.  
  
She sits on the bank, the wind playing with her hair. The air is cool and balmy, but the sand is still warm. She puts her head on her knees and stares beyond the river. For some reason, she feels oddly sentimental. She buries her head in her dress and inhales deeply the scent of the river, of the sun, of this life as a priestess.  
  
Suddenly, she is aware of someone trudging softly on the sand. She freezes, wondering what explanation she could possibly give for sitting out here like this doing nothing. Hastily pulling herself to her feet, she shrieks, and then throws herself into his arms without the least of the decorum that befits a priestess of her rank.  
  
He smiles as she clutches him and buries her head in his chest. I didn't expect you until later tonight, she half mumbles, her face still buried against him. I didn't stay for the night. I started for home instead, he explains. She pulls away awkwardly and smoothes down her hair as she feels slightly embarrassed at her somewhat over-emotional actions. She knows he hates lavish shows of affection. She breathes in and replies in a somewhat more sedate tone that she is glad he is back. He smiles as if he knows what she's thinking and is amused by it. The wind blows suddenly, and he stares down at her. He slowly traces her brow and her cheekbones with his finger. You put all other woman to shame, he says. Mortal or goddess. She leans against him. He is bare chested and his skin is smooth and warm under her fingers. He wraps her in his embrace and Aishizu surrenders herself to the inevitable.  
  
The sands are singing, and the moon is smiling.  
  
He props his head up on his elbow and plays with a lock of her hair. He stares at her with that scrutinizing gaze, his brow furrowed, that stance that Ishizu found so captivating for some obscure reason. He lightly runs his finger up and down her arm. Aishizu doesn't move, but stays lying down. She closes her eyes. How deliciously sating it can be, she thinks, love, this human emotion at its most primal.  
  
~  
  
The next morning at work she sensed that Kaiba was still annoyed at her about last night. Ishizu didn't think that Kaiba could be any colder than he normally was, but she was wrong. His greeting was barely civil and he didn't speak to her for the rest of the day, except when it was absolutely necessary. The other employees were giving her looks. No doubt they were wondering what she had done to provoke him like that. The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon that there was a soft tapping on the door. Ishizu had her arms filled with a stack of tax forms, and before she could set them down to answer the door, she heard Kaiba bark out a "Come in." Ishizu could hear the door creak slightly as it opened, and she soon heard a timid female voice.  
  
"Seto..I have something to tell you."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I know this is sudden, and I really don't know how to tell you this, but I'm, ..I'm pregnant."  
  
"Who are you and why the hell should I care?"  
  
There came a sound of a sharp intake of breath. "Why, Seto? Because this is your child. And I'm sorry but I can't raise this baby by myself. I barely make enough to take care of my basic expenses, and there's no possible way I can raise a baby on a receptionists' income. And not only that. I just got fired yesterday. I'm stuck on the street right now. And suppose I do find another job. How am I supposed to find the time to take care of this baby? I thought about abortion..but I just can't bring myself to possibly do it."  
  
Ishizu crept silently to the door and opened it a tiny sliver. She peeked through it.  
  
Kaiba stood up to his full somewhat impressive height. "Damnit, woman, get out of my office right now. I don't have time to deal with your nonsense. So do me a favor and get the hell out of here."  
  
She could see the young woman now. She was about medium height and had curly red hair and blue eyes. The young woman was crying. Ishizu frowned. Kaiba was a sadistic bastard, no doubt about that. She suddenly felt enormously sorry for the young woman and her plight. Ishizu bit her lip and finally decided she couldn't handle it anymore. She hurried out of her office.  
  
Kaiba and the young red-haired woman both turned around and looked at her.  
  
"Miss.."Ishizu looked straight into her eyes. "If you don't have a place to stay, you are welcome to stay with me. In fact, I can take you home right now."  
  
The young woman stared at her for a few minutes. "Thank you very much," she finally said graciously.  
  
"Don't even think about it, Ishtar. In fact, I'm forbidding you to leave before your workday ends. Now get back to work." Kaiba glared at her. Ishizu choked back an angry retort. Now is not the time to anger your boss, she reasoned to herself. But what could she do? She glanced at the young woman, who was still whimpering slightly, her tears meandering down her cheek. How infuriating it was, she thinks, the realization that one is powerless. She knew she couldn't do anything to directly disobey Kaiba, but she also couldn't just say, Sorry miss, but just wait here for about seven hours, and then maybe I can help you.  
  
"Here." Ishizu suddenly had an idea. She pulled a rumpled piece of tissue out of her pocket and handed it to the young woman, and waited for the young woman to dry her tears before pulling her by the hand into her office and shutting the door. "What is your name again?"  
  
She stared at Ishizu for a few minutes before replying. "Linnet."  
  
Ishizu nodded gravely. "Do you have any matches?"  
  
Linnet seemed slightly surprised but pulled a lighter out of her purse and handed it to Ishizu. Ishizu wadded up a piece of paper from her desk, and carefully lit it with the lighter. She caught Linnet's eye and smiled slightly, before tossing the paper into her trashcan. After several seconds, Ishizu's trashcan was blazing cheerfully, and her chair had also caught fire. Ishizu stepped back to admire the effect and then poked her head out of the door to Mr. Kaiba's office.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba..my office is on fire."  
  
Seto Kaiba jumped away from his desk nimbly. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
Ishizu quietly opened the door so Kaiba could see the small inferno in her office. Kaiba began to swear violently.  
  
"If you will excuse me, I will find the fire extinguisher." Ishizu pulled a somewhat dazed Linnet by the hand out the door and to the elevator.  
  
"So are you getting the fire extinguisher?" Linnet asked.  
  
"No."  
  
Linnet blinked. "So you're just leaving Seto in there by himself without a fire extinguisher?"  
  
Ishizu pressed an elevator button. "Seto Kaiba has single-handedly squashed numerous attempts to take over Kaiba Corp., saved his brother from a psychotic wine connoisseur, escaped from the virtual reality his power- hungry former advisors forced him in, and thwarted the plans of my mind- controlling brother. I think he'll be able to cope with a small fire. Besides, how else would we have been able to leave?"  
  
Later in Ishizu's apartment, Linnet unburdened her troubles to Ishizu in a long monologue, punctuated by sobs and tears.  
  
"I don't have anywhere to live right now. I don't have a job. And I have a baby on the way. What am I supposed to do?" On came a fresh spurt of tears, as Ishizu stroked her hair and tried to soothe her.  
  
"Don't worry about it. You can stay right here with me. For as long as you need to."  
  
Linnet smiled tearfully. "Really?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
The next few months were uneventful. Linnet stayed with Ishizu, spending most of her time holed up in Ishizu's spare bedroom, reading and rereading Ishizu's stack of National Geographics or just staring absently out the window. Linnet seemed exceedingly grateful for Ishizu's help, and promised to start searching for a job as soon as possible after her baby was born. Linnet was about five months along when she first moved in with Ishizu, and her stomach started to grow rapidly since then.  
  
Ishizu said nothing to Kaiba about Linnet and he, in turn, never mentioned her. He was so preoccupied with his work that Ishizu doubted he even remembered her. For some reason, Kaiba had also said nothing about her setting part of her office on fire, which was a relief to Ishizu who had expected rather fearfully a furious reaction from him the next morning. But she did have to deal with a slightly scorched smell that still clung to her office.  
  
Ishizu had just returned home from work, and was hanging up her coat. Linnet was staring out the window with a preoccupied expression on her face, absently stroking her belly.  
  
"Hathor." Ishizu suddenly said.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Hathor. The Egyptian goddess of love and laughter. That's what you have to name your daughter. It'll be like a charm. She'll have a life filled of laughter and love."  
  
"Hathor." Linnet stroked her belly thoughtfully. "But I don't even know if I'm having a girl or not."  
  
"You will." Ishizu spoke with certainty. The fact that she had stopped using her Millenium Necklace had helped her realize her own innate grasp of the future.  
  
And Linnet did have a daughter, after all. It was on a sultry June night that Ishizu rushed her to the hospital, held her hand during her spasms of pain during labor, and it was Ishizu who later received in her arms the little girl named Hathor, Linnet's little daughter destined to a life of love and laughter.  
  
...Well, there's the second chapter..hope you like ^_^. I updated really quickly on this chapter, but I usually update once a month, unless I get a chapter done really fast, in which case I update a lot sooner. And please review...please, please, please...And I don't mind flames as long as they're even remotely *constructive*....(constructive being the key word here...) 


	3. Foreshadowings

Wow.I updated really quick. *eats cookie* I have the next chapter partially done, and I'll upload it in a day or so. Also, I just want to say thank you so much to all of my reviewers. Wait, let me rephrase that. Thank you so much to all except one of my reviewers. Crazi Girl, Kim, Reyana Draconis, Xaviera, and Kiira, I really appreciated each and every one of your reviews. This chapter's for you. And Bored, your review pissed me off, not because you criticized my story, but because you did so with no valid reason. Check the reviews for this story because I posted a response there that I hope lets you know just what I think about you... Anyway..on with the story...  
  
Disclaimer that I stupidly forgot to do for the last two chapters: I don't own YuGiOh. And if I did I would definitely not have let it fall into the clutches of those dubbing idiots known as 4Kids.  
  
Hathor gurgled happily from her crib. Ishizu frowned at her. "What am I going to do with you?" Ishizu kneaded her forehead in frustration. Linnet was out shopping. Ishizu and Linnet had been very ill-equipped for the baby, and Linnet was going to be gone the whole day, buying clothes and baby equipment for Hathor.  
  
It was three weeks after the birth, and they had gotten on reasonably well, due to the fact that Ishizu had been about eight when Marik was born, which meant she knew something about how to raise a baby. But it wasn't easy. Hathor had colic, and was generally a fussy and temperamental baby, and Ishizu's peaceful dreams were often punctuated by wailing and crying. Ishizu's desperate paucity of sleep was the cause of the fact that she would go to work with deep bags under her eyes and walk around the rest of the day in a sort of haze. Kaiba had asked her, one day with an acerbic smirk, if she'd been smoking hashish. Her temper had flared rather nastily and she remarked venomously that the reason she was so tired was because of the fact that she was raising Kaiba's child. He'd scowled angrily, but hadn't bothered Ishizu since then.  
  
Which led to another problem. Was Hathor even Kaiba's child after all? Ishizu didn't know what to think. Kaiba staunchly denied it again and again, but who knew really? But Linnet could be lying. What proof did she have that it was Kaiba's baby? She had studied Hathor, but at this time Hathor didn't resemble any one but her mother. She was suddenly brought back to the present by a raucous spurt of wailing, as Hathor was feeling neglected. She stared at the baby. She couldn't stay home to take care of the baby. If she missed work, she knew Kaiba would fire her without hesitation, and then all three of them would be out on the street. She didn't know anyone else well enough in Domino to have him or her baby-sit. She finally packed Hathor into her car seat and drove to Marik's.  
  
Bakura answered the door, and looked from Ishizu to Hathor with a slightly bemused expression. Ishizu ignored him.  
  
"I need to speak to Marik please," she said curtly.  
  
"Hey, Bakura, who is that at the door?" Marik suddenly let his sentence trail off as he caught sight of his sister holding a baby. He looked at her and the baby with an air almost of idiocy. "Ishizu, is that your baby?" He finally asked feebly.  
  
"I don't have time to explain. I have to be at work in fifteen minutes." She shoved Hathor and her diaper bag into Marik's arms. "She needs to be fed every four hours, and changed when she starts fussing. Her formula is in the bag; it's to be mixed with four ounces warm water. Hathor usually takes a nap in the early afternoon, don't wake her up, or she'll be fussy the rest of the day. I'll be back at around six to pick her up, and if you have any problems, you can call me at Kaiba Corp." She kissed Hathor and left before Marik could say anything further.  
  
Ishizu worried endlessly the whole day about Hathor. She didn't know whether the mere thought of Marik and Bakura taking care of a baby for a whole day made her want to laugh or worry. Either way, both her brother and Bakura were completely incompetent at taking care of children, and Ishizu prayed fervently that nothing major would happen. She didn't want to end up explaining to Linnet that her daughter was at the hospital because Marik had screwed up royally. When the day was finally over, she practically ran out the door, and hurried to Marik's apartment. She stopped at his door, breathless and almost frantic with worry. On the subway ride there, she had imagined numerous scenarios that could have happened, each more ridiculous than the last. She imagined Hathor being kidnapped by a janitor, Hathor drinking out of a bottle of drain cleaner, Hathor getting stuck in an oven, Hathor locking herself in the bathroom, and Hathor getting struck by a random bolt of lightning. She forgot about the fact that Hathor couldn't even sit up or walk, let alone lock herself in the bathroom or open a cabinet.  
  
She banged on the door and Marik promptly answered it, leading Ishizu to suspect he had been standing at the door waiting for her arrival. He was carrying Hathor in his arms with a frazzled expression on his face. He quickly deposited her in Ishizu's arms and shut the door.  
  
~  
  
Ishizu's skin glowed like polished bronze.  
  
"Where's your Millenium Necklace?" Kaiba asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Your Millenium Necklace. I want to see you put it on."  
  
Ishizu opened her nightstand and took out a small bundle wrapped in cloth. It was her Millenium Tauk. Yugi had given it back to her before he started college. He had thanked her for trusting him with it, but explained that he didn't need it anymore, and it would be safe with her. She put it on. She hadn't worn it since Battle City and it felt strange on her skin. She fingered it. It felt cool and smooth.  
  
Kaiba stared at her for a minute. The necklace glistened against her bronzed skin. He traced it with his finger, and then whispered in her ear.  
  
"You look beautiful. You look like some Egyptian moon goddess."  
  
Ishizu froze and looked at him as Kaiba's face morphed into Rishid's.  
  
And at that moment she woke up.  
  
She sat straight up in bed and blinked. She didn't know what to think. She didn't understand why she was dreaming about Kaiba. Or Rishid, for that matter. She bit her lip. These few weeks were the first time she really began to think about Odion since their breakup a few years ago. It wasn't that she'd forgotten about him. It was just too painful. She laid back down on her sheets.  
  
She had liked to think of their love as a fated one, hers and Rishid's. In fact, one might've seen it coming. They had known each other since children, and they were the only true companionship each other knew. They had liked to sneak out at night and sit amid the sand and stone ruins. They would sit and talk, bathed in moonlight, about anything and everything, and sometimes they would talk until the sun rose, and it was necessary to go back in before Ishizu's father caught them. They were very good friends, but it wasn't until Rishid had finally whispered into her ear one night and told her that she was beautiful, and that she resembled some Egyptian moon goddess, that she finally realized the inevitable.  
  
Looking back, Ishizu felt like she wanted to cry as she realized that those idyllic moments with Rishid may have been the happiest moments of her adolescence. She remembered with painful poignancy the nights they spent together surrounded by the silent sands of the desert. What have I done, she asked herself furiously. She was assailed with the feeling that she had ruined something, something irreparable.  
  
At that moment Ishizu finally heard Hathor quietly crying in the next room. Ishizu hurried out the door into Hathor's room. She stopped at the door, confused. Hathor was whimpering, alone in her crib, and Linnet was gone. Linnet's clothes, her suitcase, and all of her things were all gone, her bed was neatly made, and there was a note left on the dresser. Ishizu read it silently. When she was finished, she closed her eyes, crumpled it up and let it fall to the floor. Hathor was still crying.  
  
"Hathor's not your daughter, Kaiba."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Look at her eyes." Ishizu waited for Kaiba to see what had taken her three weeks to finally realize.  
  
"They're brown. So?"  
  
"Think back to what you learned in high school Biology."  
  
Kaiba frowned, and finally it dawned on him several minutes later.  
  
"Two sets of genes for blue eyes will result in a baby with blue eyes."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Which means two blue eyed people will have only blue eyed babies. Linnet had blue eyes. Which also means that if Linnet and I had a baby, it would have had to have blue eyes. Hathor has brown eyes. So she can't be mine." Kaiba said quietly.  
  
Ishizu nodded but said nothing. She hadn't even noticed that important fact until she was cradling Hathor in her arms last night, and had stared into her eyes. And she had finally realized what she had missed this whole time. Hathor's brown eyes.  
  
She looked at Kaiba and smiled faintly. "I would have thought you would've been more triumphant at having your good name restored."  
  
Kaiba crossed his arms. "Why? I knew the child wasn't mine the whole time, and I didn't particularly give a damn what everyone else thought."  
  
Ishizu picked up Hathor.  
  
"Wait a minute." Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What happened to whatever her name was?"  
  
Ishizu was somewhat surprised at his astuteness. How did he know something happened?  
  
She finally replied quietly. "She left. I found a note she left. I don't think she plans on returning again anytime soon."  
  
To her surprise, Kaiba's expression softened slightly.  
  
"So what are you planning to do with her?" He gestured at Hathor.  
  
"What else can I do except keep her? She has no mother now. I'm all she has." She stared almost fiercely at him, as if challenging him to ridicule her. But he didn't.  
  
Kaiba puts his hands in his pockets and stared at her with a distant expression in his eyes. "I'm glad you are. You know, both of my parents died by the time I was ten. I lost my mother when she died giving birth to Mokuba. My father died soon after. Mokuba was all I had left, which was why he meant so much to me. But I wonder sometimes what I would've been like if I had been able to have a normal childhood. If both my parents had lived. If I had never been raised by Gozaburo."  
  
He looked back at her, and was suddenly inexplicably angry at having revealed so much about himself to her. Damnit, he thought. And why the hell did I just tell her all that? he asked himself angrily. He turned his attention back to Ishizu, and barked out an order.  
  
"Get back to work, Ishtar."  
  
~  
  
"The progress on the Pharaoh's pyramid was quite satisfactory. The chief engineer estimates it will be finished in about two more years."  
  
Aishizu glances up at the High Priest Seto. He is once more his cold, untouchable self. They had both tacitly agreed to treat each other in a businesslike, impersonal manner in public. They had both also agreed that it was better that they not acknowledge their relationship in front of others, for they both knew in their hearts that theirs was a forbidden love. Aishizu, perhaps more than Seto, knew too well that a liaison between two of the Royal Priests would be disastrous to both their career and reputations. But even as she is telling herself this, deep inside her heart she yearns to hold him, to throw herself into his arms as she did last night.  
  
The high Priest Seto picks up his Sennen Rod. His eyes are cold and calculating as he stares beyond the wall. The torches grow dim, and much of his face is shrouded in darkness.  
  
The Priest Khumet tries to stifle a yawn. "I think we should all retire to our chambers now. It is surely growing late." He glances at Aishizu. He often flirts openly with the priestess, something she formerly found merely irritating, but in Seto's presence it is almost unbearable. His glance does not fail to pass unnoticed. Not to the High Priest, at least. Seto's eyes narrow dangerously as he remarks in a silky voice, "Khumet. Perhaps you can go to bed now. After all, your presence here is anything but necessary."  
  
Priest Khumet shifts in his seat and remarks in a subdued voice that he will stay after all, fingering his Millenium Ankh.  
  
The other priests exchange veiled glances as the High Priest continues on. "The Pharaoh's cousin Tryphaenea is approaching marriageable age. He wishes to marry her to a vizier from the North."  
  
"Aishizu," He suddenly barks out. "You will be in charge of the preparations for the betrothal. The Pharaoh wishes to finish this business before the yearly flood, as he will be busy then." His eyes bear no recognition as he stares down at Aishizu. She inhales and replies in a monotone voice. "As you wish, my priest."  
  
He continues for several more minutes, and the moon is already high in the sky by the time he finishes. The priests gather their scrolls and leave in a group, their sandals slapping slightly against the stone floor.  
  
"Priestess Aishizu," he says, not looking up as he rearranges his papyruses. "If I may have a word with you.." Her heart begins to skip wildly and her hands grow clammy. She forces herself to calm down and slowly walks to the head of the table.  
  
He glances at the doorway to ascertain that the others are out of earshot. He looks down at Aishizu.  
  
"This is madness."  
  
She throws herself down in his chair. "This is something we decided, Seto."  
  
He stands motionless. "Is it always going to be like this, Aishizu? Will we always have to sneak conversations behind the backs of the others? Do we really have to steal out at night just so we can be with each other?"  
  
She doesn't answer him for a few minutes. "You know as well as I do the answer to that question." she finally says dryly.  
  
He comes around to her side and leans against the edge of the table. "Maybe so. But I'm beginning to think I can't take this anymore. Watching that Neanderthal give you lecherous stares. Acting like you're absolutely nothing to me." He crosses his arms and kicks idly at the floor.  
  
Aishizu is silent. How closely his thoughts mirror her own of a few minutes ago. He, too, seems to yearn for a time when they can just lie in each other's arms doing nothing. But she is loath to voice her thoughts. "How shallow you seem to make our relationship sound. As if it can be ruined just because we can't be with each other all the time." She says sardonically.  
  
He looks up at her, as if he has nothing to say. He finally gathers his Sennen Rod and his scrolls, and stoops down to her side before he leaves.  
  
"Someday," he whispers in her ear," I'll be on that throne and you'll be by my side as my queen." 


	4. Destiny or Dementia?

And this maiden she lived with no other thought  
  
Than to love and be loved by me.  
  
I was a child and she was a child,  
  
In this kingdom by the sea.  
  
~  
  
Ishizu slung her purse over her shoulders, kissed Hathor goodbye and exited her apartment. The corridor was unusually drafty and she shivered slightly as she went out through the main door. She checked her watch briefly. She had a local teenage girl babysit for Hathor and she had four hours before she had to be back.  
  
  
  
She was on her way the Kaiba mansion. Kaiba had asked her to look over this month's gross annual earnings, and as she had not had enough time to finish during work, he had permitted her to take it home, provided he receive them by Saturday morning. The weather was cool and the sea as well as the skyscrapers of downtown Domino were obscured by fog. She hugged herself tightly, glad she had decided to dress a little warmer. She was wearing a handwoven white poncho, beaded at the edges with tiny clear glass beads, a gift from one of her former Egyptian colleagues. She smiled slightly as she remembered Marik saying that she looked like a goatherd in wearing that. Marik had always sent her clothes as presents, including a garishly embroidered tank top, a slinky black sleeveless sheath dress, as well as a pair of leather pants. Ishizu didn't even need to try on any of the clothes to know that they would be skintight or belly-baring. Whenever Ishizu received any of his presents, she would often smile politely, stifling a grimace, as she silently resolved never to let any of those abhorrent clothes touch her skin.   
  
  
  
Ishizu reached her car, a tiny vintage white Beetle, a relic of her college days, when this was the only car she could even remotely afford. Since then, she could have bought a much better car, but the tiny little white car has grown on her, and she has been loath to replace it. She never drove it to work however, not only because it was much more practical to just take the subway rather than the congested streets of downtown Domino, but also because of a silent fear of the taunts her car would elicit parked amid the numerous shining BMWs in Kaiba Corp's parking lot.   
  
  
  
She got in and started her car, and pulled out, trying feverishly to remember the directions to the Kaiba mansion. She swerved slightly as she changed lanes and ten minutes later she reached the Kaiba mansion, located on the outskirts of Domino.   
  
  
  
The mansion was a large looming white house, staid and dignified, sitting like a hat amid the landscape. The lawn was so finely groomed it resembled a putting green. Ishizu parked her car near the sidewalk and walked up to the gates complete with stone Blue-eyes white dragons in place of gargoyles. She smiled, slightly amused. Kaiba seems to quite love his dragons, she thought. As she neared the gates, they slowly parted with a creak, and she walked to the front door. But before she even touched the heavy stone knocker, the door was opened not by a maid or butler as she imagined, but by Mokuba Kaiba, hair tousled and a grin on his face.   
  
  
  
"What're you here for?"  
  
  
  
Ishizu gestured to the manila folder she was carrying in her arms. "I am here to bring Mr. Kaiba some important papers. Is he here?"  
  
  
  
"No. But he should be back anytime soon. He had to pick up some stuff at work. But why don't you come in and you can wait for him?"  
  
  
  
"Oh, no. I don't want to intrude. I can just leave the papers here."  
  
  
  
"No, no. I insist." Mokuba smiled and escorted her in with a flourish.   
  
The inside of the mansion was large and quiet, with an immaculate cleanliness Ishizu imagined must take quite an army of maids to maintain. The walls were hung with various art reproductions and vases. Ishizu noticed a Vermeer painting, as well as a Titian and an O'Keefe. She didn't know Kaiba was an art collector. She followed Mokuba along a labyrinth of hallways, into a large sunny kitchen. Ishizu took a seat at the polished marble counter, as Mokuba pulled open the refrigerator.  
  
"What would you like to drink?"  
  
"Oh no. I am fine. I'm just waiting for your brother to return so I can give him his papers."  
  
Ignoring her refusal, Mokuba pulled out a carton of soy milk and poured her a glass. Ishizu raised an eyebrow.   
  
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, before Ishizu, slightly curious, asked Mokuba what he planned to do in the future.  
  
"Well...I think I'm going to get a liberal arts degree." Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I made up my mind a few years ago, I think. About the end of my freshman year."  
  
Ishizu picked up the glass with a veiled smile. "I suppose your brother isn't too happy with your decision?"   
  
Mokuba stared at her for a minute, then smiled sheepishly. "No, he really isn't."  
  
Ishizu looked at him over the rim of her glass. Mokuba had, no doubt, changed a lot in these few years. How many years has it been since the summer of Battle City? Six? No, seven. Mokuba still had his long black hair and gray eyes, as well as his disarming frankness, but since then, very little of the enthusiastic ten-year-old she had once known remained. She wondered how Kaiba felt about it.   
  
Ishizu finished her glass in silence. The door suddenly swung open to reveal Kaiba stepping in briskly, with a silver attaché case and a white duster. He threw his briefcase on the counter and sat down on a stool across from Ishizu's.   
  
  
  
"Have you finished with the earnings reports?" he asked, not even looking at her as he opened his briefcase.  
  
"Yes." Ishizu handed the folder over to Kaiba. "Everything looks fine." She nodded at Mokuba, and left without making a sound."  
  
"She's cute. I like her." Mokuba swung around on his stool as soon as she was out of earshot. He looked at Seto with a mocking grin on his face. "You planning on marrying her?"  
  
Seto didn't even look up. "Mokuba, please. She's not even my type. Any relationship we have is strictly professional. Besides, she also happens to be my secretary."  
  
Mokuba continued swiveling around on his stool. "So?"  
  
Kaiba did look up this time. He gave an exasperated sigh as he opened a folder. "Mokuba" he finally said. "You really do have a lot to learn about the world, don't you?"  
  
Mokuba said nothing, but grabbed his backpack off the counter and ran through the swinging doors with a grin on his face.   
  
  
  
  
  
Bakura answered the door wearing a large white apron as Ishizu showed up for her weekly Saturday night dinner with her brother and his roommate. "Dinner will be ready soon." he said as he stood aside to let her enter.  
  
  
  
Ishizu seated herself at the dining table. She frowned for a minute as she recognized her best linen tablecloth covering Marik and Bakura's table. And I was looking everywhere for that, she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by Bakura placing a plate in front of her. Ishizu looked at her plate. Rice croquettes and lamb medallions. That would look delicious. That is, if she wasn't a vegetarian. Bakura filled her glass with red white. Ishizu forced a smile and toasted Marik, wondering if he'd ever remember that she was a strict teetotaler. She scraped her lamb to the side of her plate with her fork and picked at her rice for the rest of the meal.   
  
Marik and Bakura were silent for the first few minutes before Bakura, taking a brave stab at conversation, asked Ishizu if she's started packing for England. Ishizu silenced him with a withering glare. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and the three of them passed the rest of the meal in silence, Bakura for fear of Ishizu, Marik because he was busy stuffing his face, and Ishizu was silent out of pure annoyance. That and the fact that the rice croquettes were abominably dry and stuck to the roof of her mouth.   
  
  
  
~  
  
She has a restless night, and she wakes up early the next morning with a bitter taste in her mouth. Last night was quite possibly the nearest to a serious argument they had ever had. She closes her eyes as she wonders yet again how the two of them could ever had ended up in a relationship like this. The cold, forbidding priest, and the calm, composed priestess. Theirs is an union as unlikely as it is fervent. An union brought about by fate's irony and a unfixed destiny, perhaps, that one has no say in.   
  
  
  
She slips noiselessly out of her room. She feels the cold stone of the floor on her bare feet. The other priests usually don't rise until about eight o'clock, roughly. She wends her way among the labyrinthine stone passageways until she sees him standing in the main hallway, staring out the doorway.   
  
He stands perfectly still, his clothes ruffling slightly in the morning breeze.   
  
  
  
"Aishizu." he says without preamble. He senses her presence even though she has not made a sound.  
  
" There's no point in your torturing yourself like this. The throne is his, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." she knows perfectly well what he's been thinking.  
  
He gives a short ironic laugh. "The throne would've been mine if he hadn't been born. Or have you forgotten? My father was the brother of the last pharaoh. If my uncle the pharaoh Akunumkanon had died without an heir, I would be pharaoh right now."  
  
She pities him, almost, his desperation for the power of the pharaoh. "You may inherit the throne yet. If the pharaoh Yami dies without an heir, the throne will go to you."  
  
"What good will that be? I'm not about to spend twenty years of my life like some desperate fool waiting for him to die."  
  
"And what else can you do about it?"  
  
He smiles to himself with that expression she knows so well. "I'm going to overthrow him." he says softly.  
  
  
  
"You can't." She inhales sharply. "Or have you forgotten the vows we have all taken to protect the pharaoh?"  
  
  
  
"To hell with the vows I took."  
  
She shakes her head wordlessly. "You can't go against who you are, Seto. The vows you've taken are more a part of you than you'll ever realize. It's your duty, your destiny, your fate." But even as she is saying this she realizes the terrible truth that she will have no choice but to support him in this, and that she, too, will break her vows to stay loyal to the man she loves so.  
  
~   
  
Hathor squealed with delight as she emptied the cup of pencils on Ishizu's desk. She proceeded to grab them with her chubby fingers, causing Ishizu to sigh in frustration as she put her in her stroller. Kaiba, having heard Hathor, promptly opened the door with a sudden bang, causing Ishizu to drop the box of animal crackers in her hands, scattering animal crackers all over the floor. Kaiba, instead of yelling at Ishizu like she had anticipated, instead remained silent, and stood in the doorway as he struggled not to smile. Ishizu, however, didn't notice as she slid off her chair to pick up all the animal crackers.  
  
"Why is she here?" he asked gruffly.  
  
Ishizu paused as she picked up a tiger off the floor. "I'm taking Hathor this afternoon to get the adoption papers finalized."  
  
"You're adopting her?"  
  
"I adopted her in a way the night Linnet left her. But this should add a legal finality. I would've thought you of all people would know what I mean."  
  
"I see." Kaiba answered in a noncommittal tone. He refrained from further comments as he abruptly left the room. Ishizu stared after him. He really isn't that way inside, she thought. She thought back to a few months ago, after she was left to raise Hathor by herself. She was paid an ample salary, but it was still somewhat of a strain to pay for all of Hathor's diapers and formula. She had mentioned it in passing to Kaiba one day, and two days later, as she left for work, she had tripped over a large cardboard box outside her door. Mystified, she had opened it. It contained a supply of Pampers and a large canister of baby formula. And every few weeks, she would find another box outside her door. She was sure it was Kaiba who was behind it. Her suspicion was confirmed when she asked him about it, and he had denied it emphatically. A little too emphatically. He never was a good actor.   
  
And it was the little things like that that made her feel slightly ashamed of her former preconceptions of him. It wasn't much, she knew. Kaiba had most likely left a standing order on some online shipping site, which wouldn't have taken him more than a few minutes total, and the cost wouldn't have made even the smallest dent in his bank account, but it was the thoughtfulness that counted more than anything, perhaps. That man is an enigma, she thought as she got up from the floor.   
  
  
  
(...I hope my historical details are right, since I'm much too lazy to research anything, and my entire knowledge of ancient Egypt consists entirely of the research I did for my first semester World Civ. project. But...I did do a little research on the whole Seto/Aishizu thing, and High Priest Seto really was Yami's cousin, and High Priest Seto really did have this whole obsessive desire to overthrow Yami. No wonder he's such a power-hungry nutcase in his present life. *sweatdrop*....anyway, I won't update for about two or three weeks. (damn writer's block), and also....anyone who can identify the poem from which the little excerpt from the beginning of this chapter came from gets an imaginary sticker! (It shouldn't be too hard. Most of you have probably read the poem at some point or other.) 


	5. The Most Terrible Demon of All

__

…"I'll come to thee by moonlight,

Though hell should bar the way."

~

The rain spattered against the window in a medley of tapping. Seto Kaiba snapped his pencil in half. Damn that rain. He couldn't concentrate. Over the years he had cultivated the concentration skills of an automaton, something he found invaluable in his line of work, but today for some reason, he just couldn't concentrate over the racket of that infuriating rain. He felt, well, restless. He shoved his chair away from his desk and stood up with a sigh. 

His window looked out on the streets of Domino. He could see the glow of the street lamps, the grayed sidewalks and pavements, the occasional person under an umbrella, all blurred by the sheets of rain cascading down his window, as the wind continued its plaintive howl.

Mokuba was lying on a sofa in the office, ostensibly reading, but Kaiba hadn't heard him turn a page in about twenty minutes. No doubt Mokuba had fallen soundly asleep. Kaiba faced the window with his hands behind his back. A sharp click came from the door. Seto didn't need to turn around as he watched in his highly polished window Ishizu's reflection enter through his office door.

"You're ten minutes late."

"In case you haven't noticed, Seto Kaiba, it happens to be raining out."

"Is that an excuse? Here at Kaiba Corporation, I don't give a damn about excuses, especially when it's about the weather." He spoke in a low voice as he watched in the window as Ishizu hung up her coat. Her hair was wet, and tiny streams of water ran down her face and neck. Kaiba watched, eyes narrowed, his face stony. Her gold earrings swayed imperceptibly as she moved. 

"Kaiba Corporation is planning a merger soon. I'm having a business dinner Tuesday night at eight. I'll expect you to be there. The invitation's on my desk."

"How do you know I don't have plans?"

"Well, you'll just have to break any plans you do have."

Kaiba closed his eyes. He could hear the angry click of Ishizu's heels against the marble floor. He could hear them getting louder and louder, as she approached his desk and swiped the invitation, scattering papers on the floor as she did. Her heels faded slightly as she walked toward her own office, and slammed the door with a bang that made Mokuba wake with a start.

Pompous jackass, Ishizu thought angrily as she tore the envelope open. The truth was, she didn't have any plans for the rest of the week, but the certain arrogance with which Kaiba expected her to be there irritated her to no end. She pulled out a thick sheet of linen paper and perused it. Tuesday night, eight o'clock, Domino Hotel, formal dress. She'd have to find a babysitter for Hathor, and other than that, she'd have no problems, but, being a recluse, she'd always hated social events like this. She'd had to endure her share of them as head of the Department of Archaelogy, but she still abhorred the thought of a dinner party. She ran her finger over the embossed letters. This was all Kaiba's fault.

~

The priestess Aishizu stands by her window in one of her rare moments of free time. She allows herself to savor these few moments by herself, since right now, she seems to find her solitude oddly comforting. She refuses to let her mind dwell on the High Priest Seth. Strange, once again, how her relationship with him, this one aspect of her life which brings her much more happiness than she can ever comprehend, can also bring her so much torment. But to ruminate is painful, and to dwell on such matters is far worse, as she tells herself.

She leans her head against the wall. She hears footsteps, and she knows instinctively who is approaching her door.

"You left me abruptly this morning."

"What more was there to say?" She tries to keep the bitterness out of her words, but when she looks at him he has an almost wounded expression.

She looks away, but continues. "Can you not see where this is going to go, Seth? Your quixotic plans are doomed from the start. This will end in nothing but catastrophe for both of us. Please, I beg you, Seth." She struggles to keep the tears from coming to her eyes. Her voice becomes choked. "Please, if not for yourself, then for us, at least." 

"I'm afraid not. Can't you see, Aishizu? My very soul is stagnating in this hellhole of an existence."

Aishizu looks away sorrowfully, as she realizes it is futile to try and dissuade him from his foolish ambitions. But she tries, nevertheless, to save their future together. 

"It is foretold. I have seen it in my Millenium Tauk. To continue with this foolishness is madness. You cannot go against destiny, but I will tell you this, Seto. You will never gain the power of the pharaoh." 

She rises and faces him. Her tone has suddenly become invested with a gravity and solemnity, and suddenly she is no longer a desperate woman trying to save the future, but a priestess ordaining an undeniable truth. She can keep up this charade no longer, and she suddenly sits back down. Seto stands in front of her.

"There is no such thing as destiny. Destiny is merely for those who are too weak to determine their own future. I, however, will decide my own fate."

She has nothing to say to this, but buries her face in his waist and begins to sob and begins to torture herself with the realization that they are doomed, if he continues with this.

Seto strokes her hair and begins to speak softly. "I need your help in this. You are the keeper of Obelisk the Tormentor, and I need Obelisk, Aishizu. Tell me where he is kept."

Aishizu says nothing. It is true that she alone of the priests is the keeper of Obelisk. But it is a sacred duty entrusted to her by the pharaoh Yami and she does not know if she can bring herself to break that trust and allow the Pharaoh to be destroyed by the very creature he entrusted to her.

But Seto continues to stroke her hair and speak in a low, gentle voice, as if trying to pacify a child. And finally it is a love so terrible in its furor that prompts her to lift her tear-streaked face and tell him in a cracked whisper exactly where Obelisk was kept. 

~

Kaiba scowled and downed a glass of champagne. God knows how many of them he'd need to get through the night. He always hated these dinner parties, he hated wearing these dinner jackets, and he hated these idiots he was surrounded by. But he had a merger to make, and this dinner would be imperative to that end.

Mokuba came over and leaned against a chair. "Bourgeoisie bastards. And you spent a fortune on those appetizers themselves. Did you know you could probably feed a starving family in an underdeveloped country for months with what you spend hosting just one of these dinner parties, Seto?"

"Stuff it, Mokuba. I'm not in the mood to hear it. And you seem to have forgotten the fact that you're the one who always ends up eating an ungodly amount of those appetizers." Kaiba growled, and left. He'd always hated being criticized, and Mokuba seemed to be doing a lot of that nowadays. He'd had to put up with Mokuba popping up out of nowhere to criticize the cost of his dinner parties, the amount of water he wasted when he took showers, and the fact that his soul was slowly and irremediably rotting away due to a mixture of his bourgeosie ideals and his entrapment in the business world. What were they teaching in those schools these days, anyway?

Ishizu, meanwhile, was sitting in a corner of the room. She'd rebuffed numerous attempts to draw her into conversation, and was periodically checking her watch and wondering if Kaiba would ever notice if she were to leave about an hour and a half early. She was reminded forcibly of how much she hated social events of any kind. Kaiba noticed her from across the room, but made no movement to come near her.

She sighed. This was going to take forever. She noticed a balcony outside, and deciding that she needed some air, she slipped through the crowd and stood on the balcony. Much better. The din of conversations and the intolerable smell of everyone's perfumes and colognes had given her somewhat of a headache. She rubbed her head and leaned over the wall and stared out into the street.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Kaiba had snuck up behind her without making a sound. He leaned against the wall, a faint smirk on his face.

"I could ask you the same question."

Kaiba smiled silently to himself as Ishizu leaned further over the side of the balcony, lost in her own reverie. Neither one said another word, but the tension was palpable. A faint breeze slipped by, stirring the roses growing nearby on a trellis on the wall. Kaiba broke off a rose and coming up to Ishizu's side, offered it to her with a sardonic smile.

"How many drinks have you had, Kaiba?"

"You don't have to be so damn cynical, Ishizu. It's just a rose."

"And I don't want it."

Kaiba toyed with his rose, stroking its stem. "Do you see how perfectly white it is? White roses. The symbol of platonic love, Ishizu." He tossed it onto the street and looked up at her once again, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. He smiled again, and she could see the gleam of his teeth in the darkness. 

She inhaled and looked away, and began to wonder just how many glasses of champagne Kaiba had had. He leaned in closer, so close she could feel his breath, so close she could reach up and touch him, so close that it is as if he will kiss her. 

"Seto!" Mokuba Kaiba's voice cut through making both of them start perceptibly. Mokuba's head poked through the curtain separating the balcony from the room. 

"Am I interrupting something?" Mokuba looked curiously at Seto, whose face was now a vivid scarlet, to Ishizu, who was looking determinedly at the floor.

"No." Kaiba said hastily, regaining his composure. Ishizu mumbled something likewise, and fought furiously not to look at either Mokuba or his brother.

"Ahh. I see." Mokuba's tone said little, but he gave the pair one last curious look before disappearing.

Kaiba cleared his throat awkwardly, before moving toward the exit. Ishizu tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and made her way out. Before she could leave the balcony, though, Kaiba's hand brushed against her shoulder lightly.

"I apologize, Miss Ishtar. That was a, uh, unprofessional moment I think we just had there, and… I'll make sure it won't happen again."

"Yes."

Ishizu forced herself to look up at Kaiba again, and he was looking at her with an indescribable expression in his eyes. Suddenly without a word, he laced his hands around her waist and bent down. It took Ishizu a moment to realize that Kaiba's lips were locked against hers. She closed her eyes and lost herself for a moment, as she wondered when was the last time this had happened. Rishid. He was the only man she had ever kissed. The feeling of Kaiba pressed against her, however, brought back a recollection so sharp she could not help but gasp sharply and pull herself away. 

It took a few seconds for her breathing to return to normal. Kaiba put his hands in his pockets and avoided looking at her. 

"I'm sorry." Ishizu said, aware of how flat her words must sound.

"Why should you be sorry?" Kaiba replied in a monotone, crushing something invisible with his heel.

"It's… complicated."

"I don't see what's so complicated about it. I kissed you when I shouldn't have, and you didn't like it."

"That's not it." Ishizu felt like some small child, unable to express in words that it was hungry, or sad, or cold. She felt oddly frustrated at her inability to tell Kaiba something she herself did not know.

"You don't have to justify yourself." Kaiba paused for a minute, staring into nowhere. "That shouldn't have happened, and…"

"And what?"

"Forget it. It never happened, all right? I… I just forgot completely and I… kissed you."

Ishizu was completely at a loss for words, until all of a sudden, all the spite and anger she'd felt for the past several months was suddenly unleashed. 

"Is this what happens to all your secretaries, Seto Kaiba?" And she suddenly remembered something. "At my interview, I was told about the former secretary. Where you the one who got her pregnant, Kaiba?"

Kaiba spun around with a look of unadulterated fury in his eyes. He inhaled sharply and suddenly, without warning, slapped her viciously. 

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Ishtar." He spat his words out angrily. 

"And as of this moment… 

You're fired." 

*

*

*

(…I feel like crap. My molars are breaking through and my gums got infected, so it hurts like hell every time I chew, so I've been drinking nothing but liquids for about a week now. x_x. So let that be a lesson to you, people. *pokes random reader* You hear that? Stop reading and go brush your teeth. Now. 

Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews! It means a lot to me, it really does, and it's very gratifying to know there's people out there who like reading my stuff. And congrats, Ambie-chan and Kiira for figuring out the quote from the last chapter. Here's your imaginary sticker. Have fun with it.

And I have a new excerpt. Anyone who can guess which poem it's from gets a, uh, imaginary cappucino maker. ^_^ Yes, you heard right, an IMAGINARY CAPPUCINO MAKER! *gasps from audience* Now isn't this little game fun? Okay, just ignore me, I'm a dork.

But thanks for reading, and the next chapter should be posted in about 2-3 weeks, but maybe sooner if I stop procrastinating so much. -_-


	6. The Past is Present

__

It was love, the most terrible demon of all.

~

Shaken by the memory of that horrible night, Ishizu fought not to think. Kaiba's kiss had somehow awakened a torrent of emotions inside of her. Her unresolved feelings toward Rishid, her doubts about the future, and just about every other problem that had been quietly building up for the last few years. As soon as she was out of Kaiba's sight, she promptly hailed a cab and headed for home, being in no condition to be driving. Once in the taxi, she closed her eyes and let herself drift until she reached her apartment. She hurried in and left a message on Marik's answering machine telling him to please take care of Hathor for a while. She walked to her bathroom, and found an old bottle of sleeping pills, and promptly swallowed two, and fully dressed, fell asleep.

She lay in bed for two days, in a horrible state of semi-consciousness, as she drifted in and out of sleep. It was almost one in the afternoon of the third day when she finally got up out of bed, with a dry mouth and a heavy heart. She examined herself in the mirror. She seemed especially gaunt and worn. Ishizu took a shower, and though the water was scalding hot, she simply did not have the energy to change it. 

~

Ishizu paused before entering his office. She had a feeling this would be awkward. But she finally pushed open the door. Kaiba, as usual, was sitting at his desk. For several moments, neither of them said anything, and the only sound was the scratching of Kaiba's pencil as he wrote.

"I assume you're here to collect your things." He spoke, in a flat, emotionless voice, without looking at her. "And see Sasaki on the third floor about your severance pay." His anger had evidently faded, but his tone was not in the least apologetic.

"All right." Ishizu made her way to her office and began to collect her things in a cardboard box. She was done in about ten minutes, and she looked around her empty office one last time. Even with her things there, her office had still been somewhat bare looking, but stripped of all her possessions, her office seemed almost pathetic.

She left without speaking another word to Kaiba. There was nothing to say.

~

"Ah, yes, severance pay. Well, severance pay is usually mailed out." Ms. Sasaki adjusted her glasses and looked at Ishizu. "But you might need some other documents. Hold on just a minute." She pulled open a filing cabinet and pulled out a thick folder and begin to leaf through it.

Ishizu balanced the box on her hip uncomfortably. Finally, after waiting several minutes, she put the box down and took a seat across from her. The room was silent except for the rustling of papers, and Ishizu finally decided to take a brave stab at conversation.

"Miss Sasaki… you wouldn't know what happened to the last secretary, would you?"

The woman slowly put down her papers and gave Ishizu a significant look. 

"Why would you want to know?"

Ishizu looked down at her lap. "Curiosity, I suppose."

Miss Sasaki surveyed her for a minute before continuing. "Yes, I assume it's Kyeko you're talking about. Yes, well, her name was Kyeko, and I can't seem to remember her last name, but Mr. Kaiba always called her Camilla for some reason. I really don't know why. And as for what you really want to know, well…" She paused and licked her lips, choosing her words carefully. " I don't think Mr. Kaiba ever truly loved her, but… it may well have been the closest thing to it. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" 

Ishizu nodded slowly. "Perfectly."

Miss Sasaki gave her another piercing glance. "But she was involved with Mr. Kaiba's Vice-President, Mr. Terufumi. They were quite smitten with each other, as the whole building knew. I think even young Mr. Mokuba knew what was going on. Mr. Kaiba was the only one who didn't know what was happening. Of course, though, I rather think he knew and just tried to ignore it. But, around October, Kyeko resigned and married Mr. Terufumi. Kaiba was furious and promptly fired Terufumi. I believe they're both living in Nagoya right now."

"But when did this happen?"

Miss Sasaki smiled wryly. "Approximately two years ago."

"Two years?" Ishizu barely tried to hide her surprise. 

"Yes. I almost pitied the poor man. For two years after Kyeko resigned, he just refused to even hire another secretary. I was really quite surprised, to tell the truth, that you were even hired at all. Numerous other people had applied for the position, but Kaiba would just flat out refuse to see them. Like I said, though, he never really truly loved her, but nevertheless, it was a blow for him when she married Terufumi. "

"I see. So, it was not Kaiba who got her pregnant?" Ishizu asked in what she hoped was a detached voice. She was somewhat surprised to hear this. She wouldn't have suspected this from Kaiba, to tell the truth.

"Oh, no. Like I told you, it was Terufumi she was involved with. I don't think Kyeko even had an idea what Mr. Kaiba's feelings for her were." Miss Sasaki resumed sifting through the stack of papers and finally pulled out a sheaf of papers and handed it to Ishizu. "There you are, Miss Ishtar. Severance pay should be mailed to your residence by the end of the month."

Ishizu thanked the woman and left, still wondering at what she had heard. This has been my workplace for the past few months, she thought as she entered the elevator she had stood in for so many days. She was almost surprised at how little she felt, or cared, about leaving Kaiba Corporation. 

Several minutes later, she was by her car in the parking lot. She unlocked the door and thrust her box and papers in the passenger seat, then sat down. She drove away from Kaiba Corporation, trying her best not to look back at it. Ishizu drove around aimlessly for several minutes, not really knowing where to go. She could go home, but… she just really didn't want to.

__

"I don't think he ever truly loved her, but it may well have been the closest thing to it."

Miss Sasaki's words continued to run through her head. She replayed the entire conversation in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized just what Miss Sasaki meant. Ishizu of all people should have known. After all, wasn't that what had happened with Rishid? She understood now that she had never truly loved Rishid, either, but nevertheless she broke his heart. 

It was something of a shock to Ishizu as she realized the sun was beginning to go down and she had been driving aimlessly around Domino for about two hours. She somewhat reluctantly made a u-turn and drove back to her apartment.

The corridor was dark by the time she got back, and she juggled her box with her knee while she fumbled in her purse for the key. Turning the doorknob, it took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness before she slowly realized that someone was sitting at her dining room table. She squinted and made out a profile. Unexplainably calm despite the fact that there was a stranger sitting in her apartment, she set down her box and flicked on a light. But when the stranger turned his head and looked at her, she froze.

Despite the fact that he seemed to have aged immensely in these several years, it was quite unmistakably Rishid. He had the same deepset eyes, and the same stoic gravity, but Ishizu realized just by looking at him that these years had not been easy for him. He had acquired the weathered look of a wanderer and he had developed some fine lines around his eyes and mouth, but whether from time or a harsh life, Ishizu didn't know. But when he spoke, he had the same vivid, unwavering voice that had haunted her for years. 

"Hello, Rishid." Ishizu inhaled deeply, almost hysteric simply from the effort of trying to remain calm. Without waiting for an answer, she promptly turned and hung up her coat. Closing the closet door, she cleared her throat and forced herself to look at Rishid. He was watching her intently with his characteristic detached gaze.

"You've changed a lot, Rishid."

"Come now, Ishizu, I'm sure you can say something more than that to me. I haven't seen you for six years now. And I never did get to say goodbye to you."

"No, we never did get to say a proper goodbye, did we?"

There followed a silence.

"Why did you leave, Ishizu?" He asked suddenly, without preamble.

Ishizu knew she would have had to answer these questions sooner or later. "I… I just guess I didn't care about you enough to stay." She said with uncharacteristic bluntness.

"I see." Rishid continued to look at her with a gravity that seemed to bore into her heart. "Nothing was ever the same once you left. But maybe I had just been deluding myself. That we had had a relationship that nothing could ever break apart. Because I suppose we didn't."

"No, we didn't." She answered tonelessly, avoiding his gaze. "Why did you come here after all these years?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Ishizu. I came back, more or less, to see if we still have a chance together. Do we?"

"No." It hurt her to be so brutally honest, but she knew that in the end, it will bring her far less pain than to continue deluding Rishid. 

But when he looked at her with such undisguised hurt in his eyes, she had no choice but to explain further. "It just that… I think over these years, I've just simply lost my capacity to love."

"I see." Rishid seemed reluctant to continue this conversation and changed to a less painful topic. "How is your job coming along. You work for Seto Kaiba, I believe?"

"It's coming along fine." She lied, not willing to go into a long and unneeded explanation. And how did he know who she was working for?

"Ah." Rishid glanced at her cardboard box. Ishizu tried to shove it out of the way with her foot, but not before he caught a glimpse of papers, files, and a jumble of pens and paperclips.

She smiled weakly. "Or it was. Until I was fired two nights ago."

"What for?"

Damn it, she thought rather irritably. She should have learned long ago it was useless to try to hide anything from Rishid. Even as a child, he had always been the only one who could see through her lies, her thoughts, and through her, now that she thought about it.

"It's… complicated." Ishizu stared dully at the wall behind Rishid. He glanced back at the wall, as if trying to encrypt just what she find so fascinating about the wall behind him. Ishizu suddenly realized how rude she was being, and forced herself to elaborate.

"It was several nights ago… it was at a dinner party, and something happened. Something that I didn't want to happen. Something he didn't want to happen. We both reacted to it rather badly, I suppose. I said something I shouldn't have and he fired me." Her words sounded much more awkward and incomplete that she would've liked.

"What will you do now?" He finally asked after a lengthy silence.

"I don't know."

"You needed that job?"

"Yes." She hated to admit it, but she did. After all, it paid well, and she doubted she'd be able to find another job easily.

"So what's stopping you from demanding it back?"

"My dignity."

He shook his head. "Ishizu, you'll realize this sooner or later, but there are several things in life that are worth more than your dignity. That had always been your greatest downfall even as a child. You always knew what to do, but there was always something stopping you from doing it."

Ishizu stared at him for a moment. She hated to admit it, but he was right. After all, he knew her better than anyone else, but she never realized just how well he understood her until this moment.

"You're right."

"I always was." His certainty of old had returned, and Ishizu smiled, burying her face in his shoulder, laughing slightly for the first time in weeks. He still smelled like he always did, an indescribable scent of soap and clean linen. "You're as arrogant as ever."

"You're as immovable as ever." His face grew serious, and they broke apart. He glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. "It's getting late. It's time for me to leave now." 

Ishizu stood uncertainly for a few moments. A kiss would be out of the question, but after all, this was the first time in seven years they had seen each other. Rishid finally kissed her awkwardly, a chaste kiss on her forehead. When she looked up, he scrutinized her face and swallowed.

"My God, I've missed you, Ishizu." He said in a half whisper as he left silently.

How strange, she thinks, face slightly flushed, as she closed the door behind him, to have had a conversation with him in her living room, at this time of her life. How strange, that she sees him for the first time after seven years, and all they talk about is her job and their dead relationship. It strikes her as so inexplicably bizarre she suddenly has an insane urge to laugh, despite the gravity of the situation. How strange, she thinks once again, that Rishid, of all people, could be the one that opened her eyes.

~

Kaiba was sitting alone in the morning room of the Kaiba mansion, in one of his rare few hours of leisure. He checked his watch. Saturday morning was free, but he had a board of directors' meeting at two o'clock. After he finished breakfast, he planned on taking Mokuba out to a large field adjacent to his property for his flying lessons. Mokuba had constantly pointed out that flying lessons were an absolutely pointless endeavour, but Kaiba had refused to listen, adamant that Mokuba receive his pilot's license by his eighteenth birthday. Finally Mokuba, knowing full well just how stubborn his brother could be, reluctantly agreed to the flying lessons, though Kaiba knew only how disgruntled Mokuba would be about it. 

The maid set down Kaiba's breakfast, half a grapefruit and a cup of coffee, and left. Kaiba picked up a newspaper.

And at that moment, far off somewhere in the house, someone knocked at the door.

"May I please see Mr. Kaiba?" Ishizu waited on the doorstep, her coat draped over her arm, as the door was opened by a sullen-looking maid.

"Ah.. I'm sorry, but Mr. Kaiba does not receive people at his residence. If you wish to contact him, letters addressed to his office at Kaiba Corporation will find him there."

Ishizu frowned. "This is urgent."

"Mr. Kaiba does not receive visitors."

Ishizu grasped the maid's arms and leaned in closer. "I need to see Mr. Kaiba."

The maid faltered and shrank back. "Well… A-all right. Right this way, please." Ishizu was led through a maze of hallways and polished floors, and into a large sunny morning room.

"Someone wishes to speak to you, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba looked up and as a initial reaction, he had to struggle not to spit out his mouthful of coffee. What the hell was Ishizu doing here? He hastily composed himself into his usual cold indifference.

"That will be enough, Moira. Close the doors as you leave." Moira bowed stiffly and retreated, the doors closing with a muted thud. 

The doors had barely closed when Ishizu spoke, quietly fierce.

"I demand my job back."

"I'm afraid you're too late. I've already filled the position." Kaiba spoke with the faintest hint of a sneer in his tone, as he complacently stirred his coffee.

"You're lying. You have not hired anyone."

Ishizu watched as Kaiba set his spoon down on the saucer, not in the least embarrassed at having been caught at his own lie. Kaiba lowered his newspaper, carefully folded it, and arranged it in a neat stack on the table.

"Give me one good reason why I should give you your job back."

"I can give you several. One, you had absolutely no right in the first place to fire me. Two, you'll never find anyone as qualified as I am. And three, if I am not rehired by the end of today, I will sue you for molestation."

Kaiba was not in the least ruffled by her words. However, finally he looked at her in the eye.

"I've long ago gotten used to threats. I'm afraid that won't work for me. However… I will admit you've made a compelling argument. In return for your job back, though, you will not speak of what happened Thursday night. Ever."

"Agreed." Ishizu did not want any more than him to remember what had happened.

"All right. I'll see you on Monday, then."

"Kaiba?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now get out of my house."

~

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(Sorry about the late update. I published 2 new fics… a Phantom of the Opera, and a Final Fantasy VIII (Seifer/Quistis ^_^) one… I just love pathetic self-advertising. Don't you? ^_^

On another note, since I've gotten a few comments about this, I wanted to clear something up. I never intended from the beginning for Kaiba to have gotten his former secretary pregnant. It's just not in character for him, since I really don't see him as the playboy type. But… I do have a reason for all of this, and I think it's about time I explained. I believe that Isis is the only woman for Kaiba, and always will be, but I also believe that everything that has happened so far will, in the long run, strengthen their relationship. Because –to quote Shakespeare here- the course of true love never did run smooth. And when it comes to Kaiba, there's no such thing as an easy relationship. And I doubt a relationship will mean as much to him if it were easy. And Kaiba and Isis both have very strong personalities, so inevitably they're going to clash sometimes and have their quibbles and arguments, but still…. And I mean, just look at Kaiba's relationship with Mokuba. They have a very strong bond, but that doesn't mean they don't have their big fights and whatnot. Do you kind of see what I'm trying to say here?

This is a very long Author's note. And not the most interesting, I'll admit. But sometimes I just feel like I have to explain myself. But never mind… once again, thanks for the reviews, and feel free to ask any questions you want. I haven't done the best job of feedback on reviews, but I'll try and do a better job of replying to them, and answering questions and stuff from now on. My IM's RyuRhapsody, if you ever want to IM me.

And congrats once again to Ambie-chan. Yes, it was The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. Terribly depressing poem, but I still liked it. Here's your imaginary cappuccino maker. And I'm somewhat of a bookworm (putting it mildly) and I get a big kick out of posting these excerpts and quotes and stuff. Even though nobody but Ambie-chan seems to be trying to guess them. *cries*… I guess I am a big geek. I thought of a really good Shakespeare quote in the shower in the other day, but I couldn't remember which play it was from, so I just ran out (still wet- but I had a towel on) and started furiously leafing through my Shakespeare plays trying to figure out which one it was. *sighs* I really do make myself wonder sometimes.

And as for this chapter's quote, it's one of my favorite quotes of all time, and when I named my last chapter, it was love I meant as 'the most terrible demon of all'. Not Kaiba. (^_^) But it's from a somewhat obscure book, so I'll give you a clue. It's by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and as for what book it is, that's for you to find out. *winks* 

Okay… that's the end of this abnormally long Author's note. This Author's note was probably long enough to be a chapter by itself… Ugh! Why do I always end up doing that?…)


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